


Death has feelings too.

by FrankenBean



Series: The Black Night Sky [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Tales of Beedle the Bard
Genre: Death has feelings too, Death's perspective, Gen, Hogwarts extreme July contest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 18:43:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19910413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrankenBean/pseuds/FrankenBean
Summary: The true story of the Three Brothers, told from Death's perspective.Why would the omnipresent, inevitable being Death get angry about three wizards building a bridge over a river anyway? Sounds like wizard hubris to me. I mean, we are talking about wizards who had a fountain made depicting magical creatures gazing worshipfully up at a wizard. Making a children's story about wizard brothers outsmarting Death himself seems right up that alley.





	Death has feelings too.

Despite what the vanity of wizardkind would have you believe, Death was not some gluttonous devourer of souls. He did not seek out or covet the end of mortal lives. Death was practical, inevitable, a resolution. His faithful pet, the Grim would greet the ghostly form of the newly deceased with a bark and a wet nose snuffling around for treats that were never present. 

And then would be the questions “Am I dead?” “What will happen to my family?” “Will I be remembered?” or there were the pleaders: “I'm too young to die!”, “Please, just a few more days/weeks/years.” 

The concerns of men after they had died was always much the same. Some refused to leave, either too stubborn, fearful or angry to move on. But Death could not understand the unrivaled fear of him that mankind held. He was just the result, the greeter of souls who kept them company as they traveled to the Other Realm. So it was with great surprise when mankind decided, that they would pit themselves against the very notion of Death. Wizardkind warped the very gifts of the Other Realm to their purpose, developing curses to maim and torture and kill. 

It was just after 1349 that three European wizards came together, they had seen wizard and muggle alike killed in droves by the great plague and had decided to declare war on Death himself. 

Uniting their magical abilities the eldest created an undefeatable wand, saying that he would keep his family safe. He killed any who disagreed with him, threatening people into following his rule and boasting of his cleverness, of how he humiliated Death. 

The second brother saw all of the death his brother caused and turned to his own protections. He drew on the darkest arts of necromancy and raised the corpses of all who his brother had slain. However, all but the most recently killed were soulless, their very presence churning fear in any living soul and an unnatural coldness followed them. 

Horrified by his demented creations, he banished all but those who retained their old souls, except for the girl he had once loved, for he could never turn her away. He spent the rest of his days working on a stone which when held would resurrect a person at the instance of death, ensuring their soul remained. And then he embraced the corpse of the woman he loved, giving her his soul as he had once given her his heart. 

The third brother watched as the hubris of the eldest made enemies around every corner, watched as he was murdered out of greed for the powerful wand, still a young man. He watched as the middle brother's creations ran rampant through the world, preying on the souls of muggle and wizard alike. 

He was alone, facing down the damage his brother's had left. He spent the rest of his life, not fearing Death, but fearing the living. He created powerful cloaking magic to hide his own family and banishing and shielding spells against the demented soul eaters. At the end of his life, he explained all he had done and the hubris of his brothers to his sons, hoping to prevent a repeat in history. 

When Death greeted him, he asked if his warnings would do any good. 

“Mankind will always fear me rather than face the realities of what causes death. It is as inevitable as I am.” was all he responded. 

The old brother nodded, running his fingers over Grim's inky fur before walking side by side towards the light.


End file.
